Double ended clothes pin



April 9, 1963 A. PAUL, JR 3,034,410

DOUBLE ENDED CLOTHES PIN Filed Sept. 29, 1961 IN V EN TOR.

ALFRE D PAUL, JR.

3,084,410 DSUBLE ENDED CLOTHES PIN Alfred Paul, Jr., Douglas, Ariz., assignor to The Six Cousins, Paul Spur, Ariz. Filed Sept. 29, 1961, er. No. 141,699 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-137) This invention relates to a clothes pin, and more particularly to a double-ended clothes pin.

Background As is well known, there are many types of clothes pins commercially available, but none of them are completely satisfactory.

The wedge-type clothes pins have to be forced over the clothes, and thus tends to stretch and tear the fabric. The usual pinch-type single-ended clothes pin must be grasped "at a particular end; and usually the wrong end is grasped, thus requiring that the pin be either reversed, or dropped and grasped again. Most double-ended clothes pins are either impracticable to manufacture, difficult to open, and/or tend to become misaligned and thus inoperative.

Objects and Drawings It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide an improved clothes pin.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved double-ended clothes pin.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved double-ended clothes pin that is easy to manufacture of two identical parts.

It is still another object of my invention to provide an improved double-ended clothes pin that retains its alignment.

The attainment of these objects and others will be realized from the following specification, taken in conjunction with the drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of my doubleended clothes pin;

FIGURE 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG- URE l; and sectional; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of one unit of my clothes pin.

Brief Description of the Invention Broadly stated, my invention contemplates a doubleended clothes pin wherein either end may be squeezed to open a jaw at the other end. My clothes pin comprises two identical units, is symmetrical, has a gripping jaw at both ends, and has a finger pressure area at both ends. Each unit of the clothes pin has a longitudinal tongue and a iongitudinal groove that internests with the groove and tongue of the other juxtaposed unit to assure alignment.

In addition, the clothes pin securing assembly is such that all parts thereof are flush with, or below, the surrounding surfaces, so that snagging is prevented.

Detailed Description of the Invention My invention may be readily understood from the following explanation taken in conjunction with FIGURE 1. As there shown, my double-ended clothes pin comprises two identical units 12 and 14. These are symmetrical, and comprise elongated elements, each having an inner and an outer surface. The ends of the units 12 and 14 are radiused and are tapered to define wedgeshaped jaws 18. Each tapered end 16 has one or more transverse grooves, such as 20 and 22, that may be used to grip the clothes line and the article to be pinned thereto.

3,084,410 Patented Apr. 9, 1963 The central portions 24 of the inner surfaces between the innermost grooves 22 are flat, so that when clothes pin 10 is in its closed position, the two units are in substantial surface-to-surface contact for strength.

Units 12 and 14 are juxtaposed and secured together in a manner that may be understood from FIGURE 2. The outer surface of each unit contains a centrally positioned transverse counterbored hole, 3234, that is connected to a coaxial tunnel, 3638, that tapers toward and terminates at the inner surface.

Coil springs, 28-30, are positioned in the counterbored holes, and retaining washers 4042 are placed on the outermost turns of the coil springs. A double-headed hinge pin 26 traverses the central apertures of the retaining washers, the holes, the springs, and the tunnels. The heads 25 and 27 of the hinge pin engage washers 4i) and 42 in a manner to place the coil springs in a somewhat compressed state. If desired, the ends of the hinge pin may be swaged or upset, or alternatively a single headed pin may have a second head in the form of a headed plug or a screw driven into the hollow end of the hinge pm.

Units 12 and 14- are kept in alignment by means of a tongue and groove arrangement, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The inner faces of central portions 24 have a longitudinal tongue 44 that is oiiset from the longitudinal axis of the inner surface. The central portions also have longitudinal grooves 46 that are also offset from the longitudinal axis. The offsets of the tongue and groove are equal, but on the opposite directions, so that the tongue and groove of one unit internests with the groove and tongue of the other unit, as shown in FIGURE 2. Thus, in the closed position of the clothes pin, the longitudinal tongues and grooves internest along their entire length.

The clothes pins are norm-ally in their closed state, as shown in FIGURE 1, which state is maintained by the somewhat compressed coil springs.

in use, finger pressure is applied to finger pressure areas 4-8-49 or 52-54. This pressure causes the units to pivot about fulcrum point 56 or 58, depending upon which end is compressed. The pivoting compresses the springs to a greater extent, and opens the distal jaw, at which time the opened jaw is slipped over a clothes line and the article to be pinned thereto. Releasing the finger pressure causes the springs to restore the clothes pin to its closed state.

It will be noted that the hinge pin 26 has a slight rocking motion, which may be permitted by a tubular rather than a conical tunnel.

At times it may be desired to hang articles from a clothes line in a different manner than described above. To achieve this, one end of the clothes pin is squeezed so that the second jaw is opened, whereupon the article is inserted into the second jaw and the pressure released so that the second jaw grasps the article. The second jaw is then squeezed, so that the first jaw is opened, and may he slipped over a clothes line. This procedure is useful for bulky articles or thick clothes lines, where the combined thickness is so large that the open jaw of the clothes pin cannot accommodate it.

In the clothes pins open state, the longitudinal tongues and grooves internest for only part of their length; but as the clothes pin closes, the internesting components guide the units into a properly aligned rotation. In fact, it is practically impossible to take the two units out of alignment.

It will be noted that there are no projections on the inner surface of the jaws, so that there is no tendency to stretch or deform any material or fabric pinched therebetween.

It will be obvious that my invention is a great improvement over prior-art devices. Firstly it is easily formed by molding from plastics or other materials. Secondly, both halves of the clothes pin are identical, so storing and assembly are easy. Thirdly, the assembly of the hinge pin and springs is easy, and may be achieved with a simple operation. Fourthly, the assembled securing arrangernent is such that it will not snag clothes or the clothes pin container. Fifthly, the jaws are smooth, and do not have any projections'that might stretch or harm fabrics.

It is understood that minor variation from the form of the invention disclosed herein may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the specification and drawing are to be considered as merely illustrative rather than limiting.

I claim:

A double-ended clothes pin of two identical juxtaposed units, said units comprising an elongated element having an outer surface and an inner surface, said outer surface being substantially flat and each element having radiused tapered ends, the area adjacent said ends defining a finger pressure area, said outer surface having a centrally positioned transverse counterbored hole and a connecting coaxial conical tunnel that tapers toward and terminates at the central portion of said inner surface, the juxtaposed tapered ends of said juxtaposed units defining a jaw, said tapered end portions having spaced-apart transverse gripping grooves of different sizes, a longitudinal tongue of trapezoidal cross section unitary with the central portion of said inner surface. and offset transversely fromthe center of the element, each of said elements having an axially offset longitudinal groove of complementary trapezoidal cross section positioned on the central portion of said inner surf-ace, said longitudinal tongue and said longitudinal groove being offset equal distances and in opposite directions with respect to the longitudinal centerline of said inner surface, so that the tongues and grooves of juxtaposed said means internest to assure alignment of said units;

means for securing said units to each other with said inner faces juxtaposed, said means comprising a coil spring positioned in each said counterbored hole, a retaining washer positioned on the outermost turn of each of said coil springs, a hinge pin positioned to extend through the central openings of said washers, and having means for retaining said washers so as to maintain said springs in a somewhat compressed state, said head portion and said washer-retaining means being below said outer surface, Whereby when finger pressure is applied to either finger pressure portion of said double ended clothes pin, said coil springs are further compressed .to allow the distal jaw of said double ended clothes pin to be opened to admit a clothes line and the article to be pinned to the clothes line, and when the finger pressure is released, said coil springs return to their normal somewhat compressed state to hold said clothes pin in its closed condition, said internested tongues and grooves assuring alignment of said units in both the open and closed states of said clothes pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,080,013 Landin Dec. 2, 1913 1,085,368 Treacy Jan. 27, 1914 2,461,333 Maccafer-ri Feb. 8, 1949 2,573,125 Wilks Oct. 30, 1951 2,712,167 Blanchard July 5, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 143,506 Australia Sept. 20, 1951 145,439 Australia Feb. 27, 1952 441,370 Germany Mar. 1, 1927 874,750 Germany Apr. 27, 1953 18,226 Great Britain of 1907 651,186 Great Britain Mar. 14, 1951 

